


The Half of Us, the Least of You, the Best of Me

by dievampiredie



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-18
Updated: 2013-07-17
Packaged: 2017-12-20 13:12:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/887687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dievampiredie/pseuds/dievampiredie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After four years together, Kurt and Sebastian hit a rough patch and have to work their way through it.</p>
<p>Title is from the song "Someone to Fall Back On" by Jason Robert Brown</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

For the third time in a week Kurt Hummel woke up at five-thirty to find the other side of his bed empty. Apparently Sebastian had stayed at the studio all night again. Granted, Kurt hadn’t walked in the door himself until well after midnight, but his boyfriend hadn’t even bothered to call him about not coming home. 

Kurt picked up his phone from the nightstand and wavered for a moment between the three and four on his speed dial. He let it ring six times and was getting ready to just leave a voicemail when a sleepy voice answered on the other end.

“H’lo?”

“Hey Rachel. Sorry, did I wake you up?”

“Kurt? The sun isn’t even up yet. Of course you woke me up. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine. I just figured you were still at the studio. Bas never came home last night and I thought you guys might be pulling another all-nighter to finish recording.”

Rachel yawned. “No, I left the studio around eleven last night. Sebastian and Nick were finishing up some editing on a couple tracks, but I thought they’d be out of there pretty early.”

Kurt heard the sound of the gate opening outside. “Sounds like he’s coming in now. Sorry I woke you, Rach.”

“S’okay. Can I come by and pick up my dress at some point this week?”

“Yeah, definitely. I’ve got a couple little alterations left, so just give me one more day and it’s all yours.” He got out of bed and started to make his way downstairs.

“You’re the best. See you soon.” The call ended, and Kurt assumed Rachel was asleep again by the time her head made it to the pillow.

He found Sebastian at the kitchen sink filling the coffee pot with water. Kurt wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. “Hey. Long night at work again?”

Sebastian acknowledged his question with a quiet groan and a “Morning, babe,” before turning to catch Kurt’s mouth against his own.

Kurt pulled back abruptly from the kiss. He was happy to see his boyfriend alive and in one piece, but his mouth tasted like a foul combination of sour citrus, salt, stale alcohol, and morning breath. “Bas, were you drinking last night?”

He gave an affirmative nod. “Tequila. It was Nick’s birthday, so we opened a bottle at the studio.”

“Just the two of you? Rachel said she left around eleven.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at him. “Were you checking up on me?”

“You didn’t come home, and you didn’t call. I was worried.”

“You know we’re trying to get this album ready for release.”

“I know, but you usually at least text me when you’re not coming home, and Rachel said you guys only had a little bit more work to do when she left.”

“Babe, we just got in the zone editing the last couple tracks. I was planning on coming home, but-”

“But there was tequila and your hot little intern’s birthday and an album to finish. I got it. I need to get ready for work.” Kurt turned to head back upstairs, but there was no disguising the sharp edge of hurt and anger in his voice. Sebastian grabbed his elbow before he could get away.

“Kurt, I-”

“I have to meet a client across town at eight. I need to get ready.” Kurt firmly pulled his arm out of Sebastian’s grasp and walked up to their bathroom. He usually took time to enjoy his morning routine, but today all he waned was to make himself presentable for his meeting and get out of the house. He didn’t want any extra time to let himself think too much.

After a quick shower and an abbreviated version of his morning skincare regimen he dressed in the outfit he had put together the night before, grateful now that he’d had that moment of forethought before collapsing into bed. Assured that he looked fabulously professional, Kurt grabbed his tablet and a portfolio from his office across the hall and made his way back downstairs. Sebastian was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and half of a bagel, Kurt’s travel mug and the other half of the bagel wrapped in a napkin next to him.

“I figured you didn’t have time to make breakfast, and the lines at Starbucks will be ridiculous at this hour,” he offered with a tired smile.

Kurt did his best to return the smile. “Thanks. I was planning on working from here this afternoon. Want me to pick up lunch on my way back?”

“Sure. Whatever you’re in the mood for is fine.” Sebastian grabbed Kurt’s hand when he started for the door. “Hey. I love you.”

Kurt leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to his temple. “You too. Get some sleep. I’ll be home around one.”

With that Kurt walked out the door and flagged down a cab. He made sure the drive knew where to go and flipped through his ipod to find a playlist that would distract him on the drive across the city.

An hour later Kurt was definitely not thinking about the fact that his boyfriend had spent the night alone with another man and a bottle of tequila. He wasn’t thinking about the fact that the other man was younger and probably hotter and shared more common interests with Sebastian and was probably a lot less absorbed in his work than Kurt had a tendency to be. Most of all, he was absolutely not considering calling Rachel on the way home to get the full story about Nick.

He’d been with Sebastian for over four years; surely by now he should be able to trust him. They’d talk about it over lunch when Kurt got home, and everything would be fine. Maybe he would even give himself the afternoon off. They’d both been so busy with work, and it would be nice to spend some time together.

By the time he arrived at his client’s studio Kurt had reasoned himself into a much better frame of mind, and he was looking forward to his meeting. Max was an emerging young designer, and Kurt was hoping to do a big feature piece on him and his work in the magazine soon. This was the part of his job that Kurt could never get enough of – discovering genuine, young, raw talent and exposing it to the masses. He could do without the endless meetings with ad agencies and the feeling that his investors were constantly breathing down his neck, but he made it through all of that with the thought that his work was helping to make the people of the world (or, for now, the people of New York and his reasonably sized online following) more aware of the beauty that surrounded them every day.


	2. Chapter 2

Kurt kicked the kitchen door closed behind him and set the bags of takeout on the counter. He called out toward the living room, “Bas, I’m home. I thought it would be nice to try something new, so I stopped at that Thai place Rachel’s been telling us about.” When there was no response he stepped into the adjacent room. “Bas?”

His boyfriend was sprawled out on their couch, sound asleep and snoring softly. As much as Kurt hated to wake him, he didn’t want their lunch to go cold. Kurt bent down to push the stray hairs from Sebastian’s forehead and kissed to his temple. “Hey, sleepyhead. Are you hungry?”

A pair of green eyes blinked open slowly. “Hey, baby.”

“Hey yourself,” Kurt ran his fingers through the Sebastian’s tangled mess of bedhead (he’d obviously showered and fallen asleep with his hair still wet) and tipped his head up to brush their lips together gently. “Feeling better?”

“Now that you’re home, yeah.”

“Are you hungry? I brought Thai food.”

Sebastian pulled Kurt down to lay on his chest and pressed a kiss to his hair. “Don’t want food yet, just want to hold you.”

Kurt smiled and snuggled a little closer. These moments were his favorite, when they could forget about hectic jobs and distracting interns and waking up alone and just be together. He inhaled deeply and allowed himself a moment to drift in the comfort of being surrounded by his boyfriend’s scent and sleep-warmed body. He knew they needed to talk about some things, but first he needed some time to just remind himself how and why they had made it through the past four years together. Surprisingly, it was Sebastian who broke the silence first.

“Babe, about this morning, and last night-”

Kurt placed a finger on his lips to silence him. “Shh, Bas. Forget about all that and just lie here with me for a minute, okay?”

Sebastian nodded his agreement and hugged him a little closer. He gave Kurt his minute and then interrupted again. “Baby, I really want to talk about-”

Kurt pushed himself forward and sealed his mouth over Sebastian’s. There would be no talking, no fighting now. He threaded his finger’s into Sebastian’s hair and did his best to kiss away all of the tension and frustration that had been nagging them for weeks.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Sebastian threw himself into the task of making Kurt forget the mornings he had left him to wake up alone and reminding him of everything that had once been so good and beautiful and perfect between them. He arched his back and pressed closer to the man on top of him. He needed more contact, needed Kurt to feel everything he couldn’t say. When he couldn’t get the closeness he wanted in their current position, he locked his arms around Kurt’s slim waist and attempted to roll them over.

Their kisses broke and turned into shrieks, the dull thump of a body hitting hardwood, and the two of them dissolving into a fit of giggles as Kurt ended up lying flat on the floor with Sebastian over top of him hanging halfway off the couch. When they had calmed down enough to speak again, Sebastian hoisted himself up so he was standing and offered Kurt his hand. “Should we move this to the bedroom?”

Sebastian pulled Kurt to his feet and kissed him again before leading him in the direction of their room. Along the way they paused to undo buttons and peel of layers of clothing, and there was a full two minute stop on the stairs that left Kurt wondering if they were desperate enough to just have sex right there.

They eventually made it to the bed, where they continued to express everything they needed to say to one another through familiar kisses and touches. They moved together in a dance that they had learned well over the years, tracing I’m sorry with the pads of their fingers over flesh and whispering I’m here and I love you with lips pressed against well-known patches of skin. They took their time, something they hadn’t done in ages, and in the end they were both trembling with want and need and the overflow of raw emotion as they tipped over the edge together and came crashing down on the other side, feeling fully sated and completely in love.

As they both settled down Sebastian pulled Kurt closer and shifted so that his head was resting on Sebastian’s chest. They took another few moments to bask in the quiet, running gentle, loving fingers through hair and over bare skin, just asking one another to stay together, in that moment of bliss, a little while longer.

Sebastian pressed a kiss to Kurt’s hair and quietly spoke. “Kurt, baby, we need to talk.”

Kurt immediately tensed up and started to pull away, “Oh my god, we just had breakup sex or goodbye sex or something didn’t we?”

“No no, god, no.” Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt more firmly and ran a comforting hand down his spine until he felt him relax slightly. “Stay with me. Just listen to me, please. I know I’ve been a complete idiot lately, and I’m sorry. We’ve both been so caught up with work and everything else, but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.” He took a deep breath and kept rubbing Kurt’s back as he spoke, the simple touch keeping him grounded as much as at soothed the man beside him.

“If you’d asked me five years ago where I expected to be now, I probably would have said Paris, still living off my trust fund, and keeping a long list of attractive men I could call at any given moment for mind-blowing sex. If you’d told me I’d be working my ass off running a business and coming home every night to the same man, I would have run very fast and very far in the opposite direction.”

“I’m sorry our life has disappointed you so much,” Kurt mumbled before Sebastian put a finger to his lips.

“Kurt, that’s not what I’m trying to say. Just listen, okay? I never expected that I would want to settle down, and even if I did it wouldn’t have been ‘til I was forty and realized I didn’t want to be the creepy old guy trying to pick up lonely twinks at clubs where they stopped carding me fifteen years ago. Then we got together. We’re so different, Kurt, and we shouldn’t work, but we do. I love you so much, and that still scares the shit out of me sometimes. You changed everything for me, baby, because you’ve always pushed me to do better and be better.” Sebastian rolled away briefly and shuffled around the drawer in his bedside table. When he turned back to Kurt he held an antique ring in his palm.

“When I was twelve, my grandmother gave this to me and told me that she wanted me to give it to someone special someday, someone that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I came out three years later, but when I tried to give it back to her she said ‘Bastian, I gave that to you with the hope that you would find someone you loved enough to share it with one day, and that hope has not changed.’

“I know it’s feminine and you probably hate it or think it’s hideous, and if you want to go to Tiffany’s tomorrow and pick out something better we can go first thing in the morning, but my grandmother was an amazing woman, and she would have loved you and I just want you to have it, even if you never wear it.”

Kurt stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before he spoke. “Sebastian Andrew Smythe, are you asking what I think you’re asking? Because I am not telling my father or any of our friends that you spontaneously proposed to me while lying naked in our bed in the middle of the afternoon.”

Sebastian laughed and reached for his hand, entwining their fingers. “I haven’t asked you anything yet, Kurt. I’m telling you that I love you, and that when I think of my future – whether it’s five years from now or fifty – I want you there. I want to spend the rest of my life waking up next to you and making love with you and having stupid fights when we’re stressed. I want a house and a dog and babies and a goddamn white picket fence. I want to watch you blush when we’re eighty and I tell our grandkids that we were naked in bed in the middle of the afternoon the first time I said the words ‘Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, will you marry me?’”

“Yes yes, god, yes!” Kurt launched himself at Sebastian, crashing their mouths together again, but this time it wasn’t to shut him up. It was a promise. It was the beginning of their forever.


	3. Chapter 3

Later that evening they celebrated their engagement with reheated Thai food and a full night spent cuddled on the couch watching movies and trading lazy kisses. Sebastian promised Kurt he’d take him out for a proper dinner the following night, and they decided to wait a day or two before making the big announcement to their friends and families.

Kurt woke up the next morning in Sebastian’s arms, and since his fiance was the farthest thing in the world from a morning person, he took a few moments to enjoy the quiet. He looked at his left hand, resting on Sebastian’s chest, and admired the delicate ring now adorning his third finger. It would be a bit of a challenge to find a complementary wedding band, but Kurt was so honored to have received such a precious heirloom. He had heard a lot of stories about Grand-mere Rousseau, Sebastian’s doting maternal grandmother whom he had spent all his summers in Paris with. She was the one who had fostered his love of music, who had encouraged him to pursue a career in the field instead of becoming a lawyer or a businessman like his father had wanted. Kurt wished he could meet her, could thank her for the way she had loved Sebastian and the things she had taught him.

After gently kissing the sleeping man next to him and disentangling himself from their bed, Kurt quietly made his way downstairs. It was Saturday, and since neither of them had anywhere to be right away he decided it would be a perfect day for breakfast in bed. Half an hour later he was headed back up the stairs carrying a tray laden with fresh fruit, poached eggs, coffee, and Sebastian’s favorite banana cinnamon pancakes.

He set the tray near the bed and leaned over Sebastian, coaxing him awake by leaving a trail of kisses from his shoulder up to the corner of his mouth. “Good morning, fiance.”

Sebastian inhaled deeply and smiled before he opened his eyes. “Mmm, I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Kurt smiled and kissed him again. “Hungry?”

“Starving.” He sat up, and Kurt brought the tray over to the bed. “Pancakes? You really do love me.” He pulled off a piece with his fingers, and the moan he let out when he popped it in his mouth bordered on obscene.

Kurt giggled and sipped his coffee. “Good?”

“Fucking amazing. If I hadn’t already put a ring on your finger I would honestly marry you just for these.” He picked off another piece and held it out to Kurt, who made sure to give his fingers a suggestive lick as he took it. Sebastian reached out and pulled him closer, wrapping an arm around his waist as Kurt curled into his side. The sat there cuddled together in the quiet of the morning, feeding each other bites of pancake and pieces of fruit, each drifting in their own thoughts.

“Bas, can I ask you something without you getting upset?”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “That’s a bit of a loaded question, but go ahead, babe.”

“Why did you propose last night? I’m not saying I don’t want to marry you – we’ve both known for a while that we were headed that way – it just seemed like it came out of nowhere. Did something happen that made you decide to do it now?”

Now Sebastian was just plain confused. “What do you mean “did something happen?” I’ve been waiting to propose to you for months, and yesterday just felt right.”

“It’s just…you’re usually such a planner when it comes to stuff like this,” Kurt tried to explain. “I’m all for romantic gestures, but it was on the heels of a fight and a lot of tension between us, so I guess I just want to make sure…”

“Just say it, Kurt.”

“You spent the night with another man the night before you proposed to me, Sebastian.”

It took a moment for Sebastian to fully absorb what his fiance was trying to say. “We were just working, Kurt. I told you that.”

“I know you did, but you’ve been spending so much time with him lately, and he’s young and probably ten times hotter than me, and he understands your work and loves it the same way you do-”

Sebastian put a finger to his lips to silence him. “I need you to stop that crazy train right now before we both start saying things we don’t mean. Where is this coming from, baby? Talk to me.”

Kurt sighed and looked down at his lap. “Do you remember when I told you about my breakup with Blaine, back when we first got together?”

Sebastian nodded. “He cheated on you after you moved to New York.”

“Well, right before that things were getting so tense between us, and we stopped communicating with each other. Then suddenly he decided to jump on a plane to New York and surprise me with the biggest bouquet of roses he could find and an acoustic serenade of the song that brought us together. A few hours later he told me that he’d been with someone else.” Kurt sniffled. “I guess grand, spontaneous romantic gestures just make me nervous, like they leave me waiting for the other shoe to drop or something.”

Sebastian reached over and lifted Kurt’s chin so he could look him in the eye. “Baby, I’m not Blaine, okay? And we’re not eighteen anymore. We’re two successful, responsible adults who have spent four years building the foundation of a life together. I love you, Kurt. You are my world, and I don’t want you just sitting around waiting for me to fuck up and hurt you like he did.”

A single tear fell down Kurt’s cheek, and Sebastian swiped it away with his thumb. “I love you so much, Bastian.”

Sebastian leaned over to kiss his forehead. “I just need you to talk to me, okay? Yell at me if you need to. God knows we’re good at that. Just don’t keep things from me if you’re worried, and don’t forget that you’re the only man for me, okay?”

“I won’t.”

“Promise?”

Kurt kissed him gently. “I promise.”

“Good.” Sebastian kissed him again and held him close. “Now, I believe you and I have an engagement to celebrate. Where do you want to have dinner?”

“You choose. I’m going to go take a shower and run a couple errands while you make plans, okay?”

“Sounds good.”

Kurt got out of bed after one more quick kiss and headed toward the bathroom. He had a few plans of his own to arrange for the night, and he needed to be away from Sebastian to do it.

Several hours later found them back in their bedroom dressing for their night out. Kurt adjusted Sebastian’s tie and couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the ring on his left hand. His fiance picked up on the reason he was suddenly so giddy and gave him a radiant smile. “Ready, gorgeous?”

Kurt turned to give himself a final once-over in the mirror before taking Sebastian’s hand and heading out the door. “Ready. Where exactly are you taking me tonight, Mr. Smythe?”

“Mr. Hummel, I am treating you to some of the finest cuisine New York City has to offer.”

“You told me that on our first date.”

“I did.” Sebastian smirked.

“Seb, we better not be celebrating our engagement with pizza.”

“Oh no, my dear. I’m not working on a college budget anymore, remember?” Sebastian’s eyes sparkled in the New York City night. “We’re going to Per Se.”

Kurt’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding me, right? You couldn’t have possibly gotten a same-day reservation at Per Se on a Saturday.”

“Don’t you worry your lovely little head. I pulled the necessary strings, and we’re going to make this night as memorable as we possibly can.” Sebastian squeezed his hand and led the way to the restaurant.

The dining experience at Per Se was one that Kurt was sure he would never be able to repeat in this lifetime – course after course of decadent, complex flavors that left his tongue wishing for just one more bite, the finest French champagne they could possibly offer, and Sebastian sitting across the table from him the whole time, looking at Kurt and smiling with so much love and tenderness in his eyes.

As the last of the dessert plates were cleared away and their champagne glasses topped off with what was left of the second bottle, Kurt reached over to take Sebastian’s hand. “This was amazing, Bastian. Thank you.”

Sebastian squeezed his hand and gave him yet another gentle smile. “Anything for you, my love.”

Kurt reached into the pocket of his dinner jacket with his free hand. “Do you mean that?”

After an affirmative nod from the other man, Kurt pulled a small blue box out and opened it to reveal a stunning platinum ring set with diamonds and sapphires. He knelt next to Sebastian’s chair and laced their fingers together. “Then would you, Sebastian Andrew Smythe, make me the happiest man in the world by becoming my husband?”

Sebastian tugged Kurt closer and kissed him hard as the staff and their fellow patrons applauded. “It would be an honor.”

As Kurt slid the ring on his fiance’s finger, he smirked. “And that, my dear, is how a proper proposal is done.”

Sebastian laughed and kissed him again. “I don’t know, mine worked out pretty well, babe. You said yes.”

Kurt grinned. “Yes I did. Can we call my dad on the way home?”

“Of course.”

As they walked out of the restaurant hand in hand later, Kurt pulled out his phone. “You’re sure it’s okay to start telling people?”

Sebastian pulled him close and looped an arm around his waist. “I would like to tell the entire city of New York how happy I am right now, Kurt. I think it’s safe to say I’m good with you telling your dad.”

Kurt kissed his cheek and hit “two” on his speed dial.

“Hello?” a female voice answered.

“Hi, Carole! Is Dad home?”

“Kurt! Hi, sweetie, of course he is. Just a minute.” There was the sound of muffled footsteps and voices as the phone changed hands.

“Hey, bud. How’s my boy?”

Kurt couldn’t help but smile at the sound of his dad’s voice. “I’m great, Dad, amazing actually. Sebastian and I have some news.”

Sebastian leaned closer to talk into the phone at Kurt’s ear. “Hi, Burt.”

“Hi, son. So what’s this big news?”

“We’re getting married!” Kurt knew it had come out pretty close to a high-pitched squeal, but he couldn’t care less at the moment.

“Really? That’s great, kids. Carole!” He shouted into the house. “Carole, the boys are gettin’ hitched!”

Her squeal put Kurt’s to shame as they heard the other line switch to put them on speakerphone. “Boys, are you really? That’s wonderful!”

“When did this happen?” Burt asked. “You’ve gotta give us the whole story, guys.”

Kurt and Sebastian looked at each other and laughed. “Well, you see…”


End file.
